Friday, November 3, 2006 · no responses · comments closed

The last few weeks have been pretty stressful for me, with money problems, the usual midterm grading frenzy, and assorted other irritants and situations that add up to a real possibility of losing my hope and my joy. This past weekend, as I realized that some of these situations weren’t going away with the end of October but would continue into November (and beyond!), I got rather discouraged. Then Wednesday night a friend gave me good — but hard — counsel, and I was reminded that I was in for the long haul. To put it another way, I wanted a leisurely walk around the block, but he told me I’m in a marathon.

I don’t like running.

Yesterday, though, I had a wonderful reminder of God’s faithfulness. In her broadcast, Joyce Meyer read from Isaiah 40, and I heard something I had never noticed before:

He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might He increases strength.

This blessed me! Faint and him who has no might described the way I felt, and here Isaiah tells me that God gives power and increased strength to people like me. To drive home the point, the prophet continues,

Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

We’re probably all familiar with the end of this passage: they who wait for the Lord… I’ve heard this taught, listened to it in songs, and prayed it as a promise. But I don’t think I ever looked at it in context. It’s powerful by itself, but even better when placed in the big picture that Isaiah is painting.

As I said, Isaiah drives home his point by creating a contrast: “Even youths shall faint…but” In other words, the strength that God offers is better. My 9 a.m. class is on the fourth floor; my office is on the second. I get winded making the trek up the stairs, and one day, a golfer that I teach came up the stairs behind me, taking them two at a time. I felt old! He passed me without a pause, and when he reached the classroom door, he looked like he had just stepped off the elevator rather than climbed four flights of stairs two at a time.

He’s the kind of young man Isaiah has in mind, and Isaiah reminds us that even this athlete can’t make it all the time — even he has a limit. But not so those who wait on God. Our loving Father

• gives power
• increases strength
• renews strength

so that we can

• mount up with wings like eagles
• run and not be weary
• walk and not faint

That is a promise of strength!